Rocket Report with Bryan B. Blair - November 2023 - University of Toledo Athletics

By Bryan B. Blair, Vice President and Director of Athletics
Nov. 27, 2023

Rocket Report with Bryan B. Blair

Team Toledo,

Since becoming your Vice President and Director of Athletics, I've talked a lot about the concept of #TeamToledo, the idea that by working with and supporting our community we can all Rise Together and become greater than the sum of our parts.

Our goal is to turn this "moment" into a "movement," seizing every opportunity to elevate Toledo Athletics into becoming one of the elite programs in all of college athletics. We firmly believe we are already on the cusp of taking a very big step in this journey, but it will take all of us in #TeamToledo playing our part.

With our Football team ranked No. 23 in the country as we head to Detroit in an attempt to win our second consecutive MAC Football Championship, the time is now for all of us to come together and Paint the City Blue! We need all of you to make the trip up I-75 and show the country what #TeamToledo is all about. It was beautiful to see our students join our team on the field in celebrating the heart-stopping 32-31 win at Bowling Green earlier this month. We need everyone to bring that same energy and level of support into Ford Field this Saturday! Order your tickets today by clicking HERE!

It's been an incredible season for our Rockets and the best is yet to come! Head Coach Jason Candle's team has won 11 straight games for the first time in 52 years. Our success has put us among a handful of "Group of Five" schools that have a chance to be invited to a New Year's 6 bowl (either the Peach Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl) against a Top 10 Power Five school. Should that happen, the visibility and impact on our football program, our University and our community would be transformative. But it wouldn't mark the end of our journey. In fact, it would be another step in our vision to rise to national prominence as the Gold Standard of college athletics.

A recent editorial in the Toledo Blade summed up the impact that our football team is having on our community: "There is a halo effect for the city of Toledo created by high profile excellence shown by the football Rockets." In other words, when one of us succeeds, we all succeed. That's what #TeamToledo is all about!

Blade Editorial: Celebrate Rocket Football

RISE TOGETHER: BE A PART OF OUR TEAM
It is precisely at times like these when we need to take full advantage of our opportunities to elevate our program. When we unveiled our strategic plan, "Rise Together," last August, we laid out a bold new vision of what our athletics program can become. We focused on the ultimate purpose of Toledo Athletics: to graduate champions who will change the world, with a mission of transforming lives while elevating the University and community through the power of sports.

Coming off the greatest year ever in Toledo Athletics history and elevated by the national success of our athletic programs, the time is now for us to strive for bold and audacious goals. I invite you to learn more about our strategic plan by clicking HERE and how you can play your part in helping our student-athletes achieve their dreams.

One of the best ways you can help us sustain our competitive edge and Rise Together is by continuing to support the Rocket Fund. Rocket Fund support helps us advance educational, nutritional, operational and developmental resources. With your help we have the opportunity to reach a new Rocket Fund milestone. Many of our members have already contributed to our record push by increasing their Rocket Fund contribution through their purchase of season tickets, donations through our Pledge-Per campaign, and their participation in our victory over BG in the Battle of I-75 Giving Challenge. Because of this we are off to a tremendous start, but it will take everyone doing a little more to maximize this moment.

The time to act is now! Please help us Rise by making and increasing your gift to the Rocket Fund. Make a gift by clicking HERE

1923 Society webpage

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: SAVAGE ARENA SELLOUT VS. MICHIGAN ON DEC. 6

If you recall, last season our women's basketball team went up to Ann Arbor and defeated #14 Michigan. This was one of the biggest victories in program history and a great moment in what proved to be a special season for the Rockets. We have another great opportunity to show the nation what an incredibly special place the University of Toledo is when we host Michigan in a return game on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The game will be on the CBS Sports Network and is the first-ever regular-season contest on national TV for our women's basketball program.

Opportunities to host Big Ten schools don't come around very often so let's make history by selling out a regular-season game in Savage Arena for the first time in women's basketball history and giving our Rockets an incredible home court advantage! Bring your family, friends and neighbors so they can share in the excitement of Toledo Women's Basketball! Order your tickets today by clicking HERE!

MEN'S BASKETBALL: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Our men's basketball team is attempting to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive MAC title this season. The Rockets opened the season with big wins over Louisiana and Wright State, and now return home for four exciting home games against excellent opponents coming up in the month of December: George Mason (Dec. 2), Northern Iowa (Dec. 9), Marshall (Dec. 13) and Vermont (Dec. 20). The men will also play two road games this December, one at Oakland (Dec. 6) and another in Morgantown against Big 12 opponent, West Virginia, on the 23rd. This is one of the best and toughest schedules in recent history, so you won't want to miss any of the action! Order your tickets today by clicking HERE!

CONGRATULATIONS TO WOMEN'S & MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY!

A big shout-out to our MAC Champion Women's Cross Country Team! Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough's women's squad overcame numerous injuries to win its third-consecutive MAC Cross Country Championship title with an impressive showing in Bowling Green on Oct. 28. Laura Nicholson registered a sixth-place finish to lead the Rockets, followed closely by Lianna Surtz in eighth. Coach Grove-McDonough was named MAC Women's Coach of the Year for the third time in her career while leading UT to its ninth title, the second-most in the league. The last time our women's team won three MAC Championships in a row was from 2010-12.

Not to be outdone, men's cross country came within four points of capturing its first-ever MAC championship, thanks to an incredible performance by sophomore Dennis Mutai, who finished in first place with a course record time of 23:57:19. Mutai is the first Rocket men's cross country runner in program history to win the league title, surpassing his fourth-place finish at the 2022 conference meet. Associate Head Coach Tito Medrano was named MAC Men's Coach of the Year as well, leading his men to their third consecutive runner-up finish. Mutai went on to finish 17th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 10, becoming the first Rocket men's runner to earn Great Lakes All-Region Honors.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ADVANCES TO MAC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

The women's volleyball team wrapped up its season, going 11-7 in conference play and earning a No. 5 seed at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Rockets' victory over No. 4 seed Ohio in the quarterfinals was their first tournament win since 2016 and their first trip to the semifinals since 2010. Coach Jason Oliver's team returns a solid core next year, including four-time First-Team All-MAC player Taylor Alt.

Toledo defeats OHio at MAC Tournament 2023

NEW TEAM ROOM DEBUTS FOR WOMEN'S TENNIS AT TWOS ATHLETIC CLUB

Our women's tennis team recently got its first look at its new locker room and team room at Twos Athletic Club. Special thanks to Celeste and Leon Clark for their lead gift for this project, and to Jeff Mielcarek, the general manager at Twos for his help in making this happen!

BRAGGING RIGHTS….
I'd like to recognize these fantastic accomplishments from the past month:

	Women's Swimming & Diving: Light the U Hall Tower blue! Head Coach Brie Globig's team won the Battle of I-75 with a dual-meet victory over Bowling Green at the UT Student Rec Center on Nov. 4! Sophomore Janne Slegers won three individual freestyle events and swam the lead leg of the winning 200 freestyle relay to lead the Rockets.
	Men's Tennis: The Rockets won four flight titles at the MAC Indoors in Kalamazoo (Nov. 3-5) with a 16-4 combined record. A week later, senior Pawit Sornlaksup reached the quarterfinals of the M25 ITF Future tour.
	Women's Volleyball: Two more program records were set this season. In the second-to-last regular-season match, senior defensive specialist/libero Ryann Jaqua became the all-time leader in career digs. Also, after becoming the program's career kills leader in October, Taylor Alt was named First-Team All-MAC for the fourth time in her career, the first player in school history to earn All-MAC honors four times.
	Men's Golf: The Rockets finished the fall season ranked No. 60 in the country according to Spikemark, tops in the Mid-American Conference and ahead of traditional powers such as Stanford, Michigan and Kentucky.
	Women's Basketball: Quinesha Lockett was named to the preseason watch list for four major awards, including two national player of the year awards (Naismith Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award). She became just the third player in school history to reach 2,000 career points when she scored 13 points in a 60-49 win at James Madison on Nov. 8.
	Football: Quinyon Mitchell was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award on Nov. 13. The award is given annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the country. He is the first Rocket ever to be a Bednarik semifinalist and the first player from a MAC school since 2017. He also was invited to play in the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., the first Rocket to get invited to this prestigious all-star game since Kareem Hunt and Michael Roberts played for the North Team in 2017. Quinyon also became the Rockets' all-time leader in pass breakups with 44 when he knocked away two passes in the win at Bowling Green on Nov. 14.
	Football: For the sixth consecutive season, the Rockets led the Mid-American Conference in attendance, averaging nearly 20,000 fans per game in the Glass Bowl!

Our recent Football win in the Battle of I-75 was one for the ages. Aside from our team battling through adversity to secure its 10th straight victory, I was incredibly proud of our students for showing up in large numbers. As they celebrated in the middle of our rival's field, it dawned on me that they will remember this moment for the rest of their lives. That moment, along with many others, will fuel their passion as future alumni who come back and give back to our University.

Moments like that impromptu celebration reinforce the identity, pride and passion that we all share as members of the Midnight Blue & Gold. Playing on national television, our ability to provide national exposure and student engagement for the University were front and center.

Being a Rocket is incredibly special, and I'm overjoyed to be a member of this community. Our current success is very enjoyable, but knowing we have even more potential is what fires me up each morning on my drive to work. Amongst our peers, we are uniquely positioned to Rise Together to unprecedented heights.

This Community. This University. This Athletics Department.
Together, we will accomplish the "impossible."

Go Rockets!

Rocket Report with Bryan B. Blair - November 2023

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